tajj7 Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 3 minutes ago, thomas_e said: Impressive work @tajj7 ! Playing with Billericay myself, and finished 6th in the 2025/2026 season, so clearly you are a few steps ahead of me in the race! Thanks, I think taking the next step is going to be very hard. Also the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and in particular Man City seem to underperform hard, most of these teams I struggle against, especially away from home but they then seem to lose games they shouldn't against other lesser AI teams. Basically my team is like Spurs good enough to beat all the teams outside the top 6 but not good enough to beat the top 6, but they seem to drop loads of points against teams I beat pretty easily. Man City's team on paper is like twice as good as mine, they have pretty much a world class player in every position but seem to underperform all the time, they have had 3 different managers I think since I got into the PL. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_e Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Agreed @tajj7 , I find that to be the case for myself as well. I've beaten a couple of the top teams at home, but when I beat Spurs away this year (3rd year in the Premier League), that was actually my first away win against a top side (even though they are faaaar behind Man Utd, Man City and Arsenal in my save). I can beat pretty much every team, and they again seem to be able to pick points from the top sides, but when I play teams like Man City and Man Utd away I stand absolutely no chance! A big gap to close! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
13-gigi Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 En 8/1/2018 a las 23:02, 13-gigi dijo: The 4th contender I'm sure will be our signing of the season: Sam Byrne overperforming on our right wing with 23 goals and 10 assists in 35 games, even been an striker. Finally, he claimed the Player of the year award but wasn't selected into the team of the year Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fadedaf Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 Just getting back into my Merthyr town save and i've just had this absolute classic match at the start of our League 2 campaign! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezisaram Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 I'm in this year Me at Hereford https://imgur.com/a/Uu4Ty Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
col_nufc1 Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 I am going to give this challenge a go and after reloading for a good couple of days I finally got the Met. Police Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellico73 Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 Episode 6 of the Enfield Town FC Challenge is finally up. Big thanks to those that helped out with the PBKAC technical difficulties. A little bit past halfway. SO far we are still solidly midtable, fighting for a playoff position, but finances are an issue. There is some oddities with the volume, I am not sure why, listening to the raw vid everything seems OK, but exporting, handbraking and then uploading to youtube has done something. Or it could well be another PBKAC error. Thanks for watching! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyrule_king Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 Going to give this a go. Looking forward to the challenge. Interesting how too work on a very low budget. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_e Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 Quick rant: Played Chelsea at home in the league, went 0-3 down after 6 minutes. Ended up winning the game 6-3! For then for the game to crash.... **** Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emperor J Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 I'm going to attempt this. As I seem rather insane I went with Stourbridge who have 1 player under contract and about a tenner in the bank. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezisaram Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 August completed, won first game, then drew 3 in a row and ended with a defeat. tactical tinkering needed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
QSF25 Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 Quick question does it matter what season does the team gets promoted? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warlock Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 23 minutes ago, QSF25 said: Quick question does it matter what season does the team gets promoted? In terms of the challenge? I don't believe it does.. The ultimate aim is Premiership and Champions League; I don't think it matters how long it takes you to get there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tecmo Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 Giving this a shot with Lancaster. Why? Because I actually saw their grounds while traveling through the UK in November (from the train). I'm going to be quite shocked if we survive the first season honestly, picked to finish last and the roster is quite poor. Not having much luck in recruiting upgrades either leading up to the start of the season. Profile Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyrule_king Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 Getting the hang of it now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dafuge Posted January 14, 2018 Author Share Posted January 14, 2018 10 hours ago, QSF25 said: Quick question does it matter what season does the team gets promoted? It doesn't matter which season they get promoted, but they can't have played in a playable league from the game start. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulskln Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 Margate 2018/19 Season 1 My first season doing this challenge and i finished in the play offs, losing in the semi final.... I signed a ton of players , all on free transfers.... My goals for next season are to reach the play-offs again....Im going to keep the core of the squad and look to add some quality... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tecmo Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 Played decently our first two games only to give up game winners in the 90th and 96th minute Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwarrilow89 Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 Good Evening! I've been trying for the last hour or so for Lancaster (home town), however no luck! So I begin with Hereford, hopefully I'll start well and can keep you posted on my progress! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyrule_king Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 I am cheering every time my team scores. Just beat second place telford 4-2 at home I am so glad i started this challenge been thinking about it for the last few FM's. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaiserwatman Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 2036-37 (UK & IRE Players Only) League - Squad - Dynamics - Transfers - Finances - Commercials The Robins are back in the big time following last seasons relegation but it wasn't exactly spectacular even with the additional players signed whilst in the Premier League. Several off-field developments have though come to fruition with a further stadium expansion and both training and youth facilities have been increased so things are starting to come together slowly. Now Entering my 20th season i should reach my 1000th game in charge around Mid October but outside that celebration i don't hope much optimism unless some things drop within the transfer window. In the cups there isn't much to report losing to Bournemouth in the FA Cup (3rd Round) and Everton in the Carabao (4th Round) following victories over Chesterfield , Bradford and Brighton Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
themonk9223 Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 CHAMPIONSHIP LETS BE HAVING YA! with only 3-4 players suited to play this division its going to be a tough ask, especially as i can't rely on 5 loan players OP for the league haha. had a nice counter formation last year for my youth/reserve team which now looks like its going be my 1st team formation in the hopes of survival or even mid table push this year. as for last few years i feel we did really well and slightly overachieved with back to back promotions but hey, i'll take it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
larxus Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 Season 2020/21 Review Tonbridge Angels FC Season Review: Promotion, finally, via playoffs. Billericay were dominant, so there was hardly any chance of beating them to the title. Board expectations: Vanarama National League South: Mid-table Media prediction: 20th FA Cup: Third Qualifying Round FA Trophy: First Round Results: Vanarama National League South: 2nd | League Table | Player Stats | Team Stats FA Cup: Fourth Qualifying Round FA Trophy: Third Round Season Summary: Transfers Finances Key Performers: Jack Sampson: Remember Eli Phipps from last season? I wanted to sign him but he was uninterested at that time, so I ended signing Jack for the TM/DLF role. Eli ended up getting released from his club, but I didn't have the wage budget to sign him at that time. Jack did his job though, scoring 40 goals in 50 apps. Named the 2020/21 Supporters' Player of the Year and was the 2nd runner up for the VNLS Top Goalscorer Award. Shama Bako: Managed 35 goals this season again. Sounds consistent, but if you see the kinda chances he missed, you would feel like killing him like I did. Thinking of converting him to an IF, but his passing and vision are horrible. Named the 1st runner up for the VNLS Top Goalscorer Award. Jack Paxman: I love this guy. He doesn't lead the assist charts but he was instrumental in moving the ball in midfield. We played worse when he isn't around. Youth Prospect: Not worth mentioning. Next Season's Goals: 1) Avoid relegation 2) Hmm.. Should I change my formation? Let me sleep on it. My transfer plans might change depending on my decision Year Division Position FA Cup FA Trophy Notes 2018 Vanarama National League South 13th Fourth Qualifying Round Third Round 2019 Vanarama National League South 2nd Fourth Qualifying Round Third Qualifying Round 2020 Vanarama National League South 2nd Fourth Qualifying Round Third Round Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulskln Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 12 hours ago, themonk9223 said: CHAMPIONSHIP LETS BE HAVING YA! with only 3-4 players suited to play this division its going to be a tough ask, especially as i can't rely on 5 loan players OP for the league haha. had a nice counter formation last year for my youth/reserve team which now looks like its going be my 1st team formation in the hopes of survival or even mid table push this year. as for last few years i feel we did really well and slightly overachieved with back to back promotions but hey, i'll take it. Damn good job, im still in the Vanarama National League South, only completed one season....Does the Margate board ever give you much help? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
themonk9223 Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 3 hours ago, paulskln said: Damn good job, im still in the Vanarama National League South, only completed one season....Does the Margate board ever give you much help? cheers my friend! been tough with the hard brexit. the board are average eventually gave me coaches after hounding them and were pretty good for senior affiliates, but other than that they are stingy AF. took me till league 1 for them to upgrade my facility's, not to mention the hate youth production. except for when i ask for a affiliate in which they reply with 'we'd rather you focus on our own youth' lol. i would say my success was only down to my scouts lol. you seem to be able to get better scouts on non contracts than as part time or full time. plus my ass man was very helpful too. him and my scouts along with 100 or so trialist ech year your bound to find a couple gems to sign. and last of all loanees. i sign 8-10 each year so i always have 4-5 really good players in my starting 11. other than that its all about long ball and early crosses for me. All the best and good luck in your save. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulskln Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 41 minutes ago, themonk9223 said: cheers my friend! been tough with the hard brexit. the board are average eventually gave me coaches after hounding them and were pretty good for senior affiliates, but other than that they are stingy AF. took me till league 1 for them to upgrade my facility's, not to mention the hate youth production. except for when i ask for a affiliate in which they reply with 'we'd rather you focus on our own youth' lol. i would say my success was only down to my scouts lol. you seem to be able to get better scouts on non contracts than as part time or full time. plus my ass man was very helpful too. him and my scouts along with 100 or so trialist ech year your bound to find a couple gems to sign. and last of all loanees. i sign 8-10 each year so i always have 4-5 really good players in my starting 11. other than that its all about long ball and early crosses for me. All the best and good luck in your save. Thanks for the reply , funny thing is i just signed Darren Huckerby as a coach, he is better than my current Assistant . I used him on fm17 as a coach for Colchester ... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkouv Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 King’s Lynn dafuge Challenge Season 8 – 2025/26 – Premiership Transfers: I tried to go for quality rather than quantity, and gradually replace my Championship-level players, or failed recruits from last season, with young PL-level players with good potential, or good players underused by big clubs. The two major signings were new forwards Bastien Auclair and Francesco Mirto, signed for a combined £53m in the summer. Center back Juan Jose arrived in January to finally give some steel to my defense. A bit more restructuring was required in the winter window, as I changed the system slightly, and some more players will need to come and go next summer to fill gaps up front and on right wing. League: The teams were setting up more defensively against me, so after a moderate start I changed to a 2-striker tactic and it worked wonders, landing me second place behind the all-conquering Man Utd. It’ll be tricky to topple them, but we’ll give it our best next season. Carabao Cup: I thought I was done after drawing Man Utd away in the 3rd round, but they had a man sent off and I managed to beat them. After that I went all the way to the final and won the thing, demolishing West Brom 7-0 to lift the trophy. FA Cup: A great run, but Man Utd were just too strong for us in the final Europa League: Our first foray into Europe was a successful one as we went all the way in the Euro cup, beating Man City in the semis and Liverpool in the final (after extra time) to bring the trophy home to Norfolk. Best players: The newly-signed deadly strike partnership of Francesco Mirto and Bastien Auclair were the star performers this season, with 72 goals and 38 assists between them, but some of the pros that went up the leagues with me like Ashley Pope and Regan Slater are still performing well, even though their stats aren’t really Premiership level, so I’m in two minds as to whether to replace them. Juan Jose has been great at center back since arriving in January. Facilities: We’re about to move into our new stadium, although it only has 13k capacity so no doubt another upgrade is around the corner. Training and youth facilities and coaching all upgraded too. Congrats to @tajj7 on making the Champions League! Season | League | Pos. | FA Cup | FA Trophy | CL | EL | Top scorer | Top assists | Top rating | Notes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018/19 | Van Nth | 5 | R3 | R1 | n/a | n/a | Abioye (36) | Limb (17) | Limb (7.4) | Lost in play-off final 2019/20 | Van Nth | 1 | R3 | won | n/a | n/a | Obiero (34) | Hmami (18) | Doughty (7.8) | Promoted 2020/21 | Van Nat | 1 | R4 | R4 | n/a | n/a | Keaveny (48) | Keaveny (25) | Keaveny (7.9) | Promoted 2021/22 | League 2 | 1 | R3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | Pashen (31) | Keaveny (18) | McDonagh (7.9) | Promoted 2022/23 | League 1 | 1 | R4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | Pope (51) | Pope (31) | Pope (8.1) | Promoted 2023/24 | Champ-ship | 1 | R4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | Pope (52) | Pope (43) | Pope (8.4) | Promoted 2024/25 | Premiership | 7 | R4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | Pope (27) | Narita (15) | Narita (7.6) | Europa qualification 2025/26 | Premiership | 2 | R-up | n/a | n/a | Winner | Auclair (38) | Pope (24) | Mirto (7.8) | Europa and Carabao cup winners Season | Finances | Training Fac. | Youth Fac. | Coaching | Recruitment | Stadium --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018/19 | £82k | Poor | Poor | Adequate | Limited | 8200 2019/20 | £392k | Basic | Poor | Average | Limited | 8200 2020/21 | £447k | Below Average | Basic | Average | Basic | 5700 2022/23 | £1.5m | Adequate | Basic | Adequate | Average | 5700 2023/24 | £5.9m | Average | Below Average | Adequate | Average | 5700 2024/25 | £107m | Average | Below Average | Good | Above Average | 5700 2025/26 | £142m | Good | Adequate | Excellent | Established | 5700 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
themonk9223 Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 5 hours ago, paulskln said: Thanks for the reply , funny thing is i just signed Darren Huckerby as a coach, he is better than my current Assistant . I used him on fm17 as a coach for Colchester ... haha that's cool, good choice! how@s your second year going? if your still struggling for results still i can show you my formations that helped me through the leagues and your more than welcome to use or tinker them for your team. but hopefully you may be doing better now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_e Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 Season Review 2026-2027 Our fourth year in the Premier League, and the first one where we competed in Europe, securing a Europa League spot last season. A good experience for the club, and overall we cant really complain, finishing in 6th place in the league and making it to the semi final in the Europa League. Still, it feels a little bit bittersweet, as even though we are only a couple of spots away from the Champions League, in reality we are far behind in quality of play. We keep struggling against the top teams, putting in some really shocking performances, especially away from home. We fought Spurs for 5th place for a long time, and even had Arsenal at 4th in our sight, but from April we were really poor. It didnt help that I at one point had to play 5 games in 10 days, which included two quarter finals in the Europa League, as well as three league games. Really strange fixture list.. After playing with an attacking 4-4-2 from the start of this challenge, this was our first year employing a classic 4-2-3-1, trying to bring in some defensive stability. This worked fairly well, but going from two strikers to a lone striker upfront clearly put more pressure on my top man. He didnt have any problems delivering though, and my £875k signing from three seasons ago, Ricardo Vasquez scored 32 goals in 44 games this season, winning the golden boat for the second time in Europe. Strange as it may sound, he is a fantastic striker, but I think I need to bring in someone to compete with him. Vasquez mainly scores from really close range latching onto crosses, and I think I can count on one hand the amount of goals he has scored against top sides. We won 6 out of 6 games in the group stages of the Europa League, and then beating Sparta Praha, Villareal and Lazio in the knock out stages. Unfortunately we ran into Man City in the semi final, how they managed to get knocked out of the Champions League with the players they have is beyond me... I got knocked out 6-2 on aggregate, so there was never any real competition if im honest.... We did very poor in the domestic cups, losing 2-3 in the 3rd round of the Carabao Cup to Crystal Palace, and then 0-2 to Birmingham in the FA Cup. Dissapointing, but I tried giving my younger players and reserves the chance to impress in those games.. they didn't... Next season After five straight promotions to the Premier League, our progress has naturally stagnated a bit. Thats natural, but hopefully we can step up next year and fight for a Champions League place. The board has given me £60 million in transfer budget, which is great! Unfortunately, I only get to keep 30% of profits made from player sales, which is making me reluctant to sell any good players. But the money I already have should be enough to bring in some quality. A hard-working defensive midfielder is on top of the list! Season overview Key Players Season | League | Position | FA Cup | Checkatrade Trophy | Carabao Cup | Europa League -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018-19 | Vanarama South | 1st | 4th round | 1st round | | 2019-20 | Vanarama National | 1st | 3rd round | 2nd round | | 2020-21 | Sky Bet League Two | 1st | 3rd round | 2nd round | 1st round | 2021-22 | Sky Bet League One | 1st | 3rd round | 3rd round | 3rd round | 2022-23 | Sky Bet Championship | 1st | 3rd round | | 4th round | 2023-24 | Premier League | 13th | 6th round | | semi-final | 2024-25 | Premier League | 8th | 4th round | | 4th round | 2025-26 | Premier League | 6th | 4th round | | 3rd round | 2026-27 | Premier League | 6th | 4th round | | 3rd round | Semi-final Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyrule_king Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 I have brought in a physio and one attacking coach in my first season just to try and get the most out of my forwards. Little gem in nathan cartman he is banging in the goals. I will hopefully be able to improve next season and will improve the squad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabn Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 I may be coming into this late but going to try it out with no chance of catching up. I'll either start with Kettering (I used to work at the club) or Dorking Wanderers because a challenge is not a challenge unless it's a challenge...... Reloading as I type this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabn Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 I may be coming into this late but going to try it out with no chance of catching up. I'll either start with Kettering (I used to work at the club) or Dorking Wanderers because a challenge is not a challenge unless it's a challenge...... Reloading as I type this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warlock Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 53 minutes ago, Jabn said: I may be coming into this late but going to try it out with no chance of catching up. Well, it isn't a race so catching up isn't an issue. Some players race through the seasons but after a few false starts I'm just a little way into season 2 (just took a break to get Wolves promoted to the Premiership). Good luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulskln Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 18 hours ago, themonk9223 said: haha that's cool, good choice! how@s your second year going? if your still struggling for results still i can show you my formations that helped me through the leagues and your more than welcome to use or tinker them for your team. but hopefully you may be doing better now. my second year has started badly....i lost my first three games 1-3 0-2 and 0-2 .... i use a 4-1-2-3 DM Wide formation that worked in season one.... Any help would be great thanks ... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_e Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 @paulskln, I dont know the skills and attributes of your players, but this style of play seems a bit demanding for Vanarama South players. Short passing and "Work Ball into Box" is pretty demanding on players and they need to have high quality passing, vision, and be good off the ball. Your striker especially, considering the role you have assigned, he needs to drop deep and link up with midfielders and wingers. Your defend/support/attack roles seems balanced enough though, no red flags for me there at least. But as a general rule (for me, not trying to dictate anyone else) is to keep it simple in the lower leagues. Few specialist roles, balanced or direct football and try to take advantage of pace in your team (wingers/striker). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
themonk9223 Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 3 hours ago, Jabn said: I may be coming into this late but going to try it out with no chance of catching up. I'll either start with Kettering (I used to work at the club) or Dorking Wanderers because a challenge is not a challenge unless it's a challenge...... Reloading as I type this. good luck mate! 14 minutes ago, paulskln said: my second year has started badly....i lost my first three games 1-3 0-2 and 0-2 .... i use a 4-1-2-3 DM Wide formation that worked in season one.... Any help would be great thanks ... i know a lot of managers love this formation as well as the 4-2-3-1, but with the quality of players you got, and if your willing the 4-4-2 is most reliable for me. lower league is like ping pong thus speed and stamina are key. also i have tried a lot of crazy formations like a 4-1-5-0 and 4-3-3-0.. 3 DMs and AMs but of all 4-4-2 was most consistent while a 4-2-3-1 was good for cup runs haha. here's something similar to what i used as i have changed to suit my league i cant quite remember what i used exactly so may not be accurate. obviously you would change the striker roles to what you have. i.e i've had tm-p, af-p, tm-af, af-dlf. i've also at times had the bwm in the deeper positions. just depending where your players are natural. i'm no expert nor claim to be any good at this haha but i hope this helps a bit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rashidi Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 Kingstonian - DAFUGE CHALLENGE I kinda forgot to start a thread on this, but I did do a youtube chronicle of this calling it The Kingstonian diaries. So my updates will be done more in the form of a video than the whole written shebang. Essentially when I started with this club, I didn't even have a starting 11. So we invited anyone who showed up on trial, this gave us around 40 players in preseason to trial from, leaving us with a decent crop to choose from. We also stuck to a simple way of playing utilising a tactical system thats built around a 4132, 4123 and a 433. This saw us beat Billericay to the title in our first season, we're now playing in the VNL, and sitting in promotion spots, with a revitalised team. I forgot to take a snap shot of the first day on the job, but I think I could do a screen grab from the first episode of the show. We're still doing quite well and I am focused on getting them promoted in consecutive seasons. We have a db of 42k players which isn't a lot but we have had some real gems knock on me do including Yiannis Constantinou, who is spearheading our charge this season with 12 goals in 11 appearances. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
13-gigi Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 hace 14 horas, paulskln dijo: my second year has started badly....i lost my first three games 1-3 0-2 and 0-2 .... i use a 4-1-2-3 DM Wide formation that worked in season one.... Any help would be great thanks ... I use the same formation but kind of diferent roles. Nowadays, in L1 I'm playing Sk Sup. 2 Ball Playing Defenders on D. duty, 2 Attacking Wing Backs, Defensive DLP as holding, Attacking Mezzala and Suport AP, 2 Wingers (1At 1Su) and a CF At. On my non-league days I combined 1 CD with 1 BPD as not all of them felt comfortably with the ball on their feet and in the middle of the park usead a BWM Su and AP At with a talented player as AP and a highly working one as BWM in a support duty to help the team to close down high on the pitch and used a Defensive Forward on Su. duty. I use a control mentality trying to play a passing now and then game, closing down high on the pitch but not my wing backs. I instruct both of them to close down less trying not to give lots of space on their backs, but still conceding several goals from crosses. You could give a try to a Right WB At as you have all the right hand side on Su. and he'll want to run up to the byline and will hep to your team instruction of overlapping. Also, I'd play a high working BWM or BBM instead of CM. As you can see I tend not to use roles such as G/CD/DM/CM... I dislike your be more disciplined instruction. I used it in my high tempo attacking 352 when losing and trying a hard comeback but if you're playing a control game, with short passing and all your players are stuck trying to be disciplined is hard to broke teams down. I let them to roam around the pitch but make sure you have a pacey pair of CB if you take your defence slightly high up the pitch as I do. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Drundrige Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 15 hours ago, thomas_e said: @paulskln, I dont know the skills and attributes of your players, but this style of play seems a bit demanding for Vanarama South players. Short passing and "Work Ball into Box" is pretty demanding on players and they need to have high quality passing, vision, and be good off the ball. Your striker especially, considering the role you have assigned, he needs to drop deep and link up with midfielders and wingers. Your defend/support/attack roles seems balanced enough though, no red flags for me there at least. But as a general rule (for me, not trying to dictate anyone else) is to keep it simple in the lower leagues. Few specialist roles, balanced or direct football and try to take advantage of pace in your team (wingers/striker). Ironically I've just switched to Short Passing out of frustration with my players, particularly my defence, aimlessly hitting the ball long. I've found in the two matches I've tried it - against two of the top three - it has given the team a more defined playing style and an element of control that I've felt we've been lacking throughout the season (and throughout the other two seasons I've attempted). I've also switched to a Structured style and I'm happy my 4411 is well balanced, the aim being to assist with the players decision making seeing as they are low quality. I'm still fourth bottom but feeling confident I can pull away from the danger zone...! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_e Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 6 minutes ago, Edinton said: Ironically I've just switched to Short Passing out of frustration with my players, particularly my defence, aimlessly hitting the ball long. I've found in the two matches I've tried it - against two of the top three - it has given the team a more defined playing style and an element of control that I've felt we've been lacking throughout the season (and throughout the other two seasons I've attempted). I've also switched to a Structured style and I'm happy my 4411 is well balanced, the aim being to assist with the players decision making seeing as they are low quality. I'm still fourth bottom but feeling confident I can pull away from the danger zone...! Interesting! And as I pointed out, or tried to at least :), I'm not saying that the rules that I apply to my team when playing in the lower leagues should apply to everyone else of course! But I think thats what great about the tactics engine these days, I think it shifted around FM15, that there are no more super-tactics that works universally for every team, you always have to adapt your style of play to the attributes of your players. I played an attacking 4-4-2 with ball winning midfielders and a target man/poacher all the way from Vanarama to the Premier League (shifted now for more defensive stability), so obiously direct play was my preffered choice! But great to hear you're having success with a different approach! Hopefully you can climb up the table! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
themonk9223 Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 1 hour ago, thomas_e said: I played an attacking 4-4-2 with ball winning midfielders and a target man/poacher all the way from Vanarama to the Premier League (shifted now for more defensive stability), so obiously direct play was my preffered choice! But great to hear you're having success with a different approach! Hopefully you can climb up the table! 4-4-2 FTW. i also love the BWM one of my favourite roles along with a poacher! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tajj7 Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 2 hours ago, thomas_e said: Interesting! And as I pointed out, or tried to at least :), I'm not saying that the rules that I apply to my team when playing in the lower leagues should apply to everyone else of course! But I think thats what great about the tactics engine these days, I think it shifted around FM15, that there are no more super-tactics that works universally for every team, you always have to adapt your style of play to the attributes of your players. I played an attacking 4-4-2 with ball winning midfielders and a target man/poacher all the way from Vanarama to the Premier League (shifted now for more defensive stability), so obiously direct play was my preffered choice! But great to hear you're having success with a different approach! Hopefully you can climb up the table! You just have to find what works for your players, I got promoted using a very fluid 4-4-1-1, with a slightly higher line, passing out from the back and very high pressing. I just tried to find players that worked for it, if your players are better than the league in those needed attributes it should work. I concentrated on faster centre backs and generally players with good work rate, stamina and decision making, as well as decent enough technical attributes if I could find them, focusing on more well rounded jack of all trades, master of none type players. The average passing probably in the conference and the north.south is probably like 5 or 6. So having lots of players with like 8-11 passing could easily mean you have a very good passing team for the league, obviously depending on other attributes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Drundrige Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 1 minute ago, tajj7 said: You just have to find what works for your players, I got promoted using a very fluid 4-4-1-1, with a slightly higher line, passing out from the back and very high pressing. I just tried to find players that worked for it, if your players are better than the league in those needed attributes it should work. I concentrated on faster centre backs and generally players with good work rate, stamina and decision making, as well as decent enough technical attributes if I could find them, focusing on more well rounded jack of all trades, master of none type players. The average passing probably in the conference and the north.south is probably like 5 or 6. So having lots of players with like 8-11 passing could easily mean you have a very good passing team for the league, obviously depending on other attributes. Indeed - the problem I'm having though is that I've very deliberately picked the favourite for relegation, and thus a low reputation, which in turn makes recruitment a real challenge. Part of my ongoing struggle in this challenge is that recruitment happens pretty much throughout the season so my squad is overhauled continuously and completely different at the end of the season to the one which started it. It probably isn't helping my tactical familiarity much! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warlock Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 56 minutes ago, Edinton said: my squad is overhauled continuously and completely different at the end of the season to the one which started it. It probably isn't helping my tactical familiarity much! That's my experience, too. My solution has been to keep match preparation high throughout the season, and focus exclusively on match tactics or teamwork, which seemed to work well in the first season. Having overachieved massively (winning the VNS) my mistake was to tell the players that everyone would get the chance in the VNL, which they all took as 'a promise' not to sign anyone. Now every time I bring in a new player the whole team kicks off about broken promises and their positions being under threat. Morale is at abysmal levels, most of my best players are unhappy and, although most of the team still supports me, I fear I'm going to lose the dressing room. We're also struggling with just one win in five or six games. Unless we can turn it around quickly I think another restart is on the cards. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
themonk9223 Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 20 minutes ago, warlock said: That's my experience, too. My solution has been to keep match preparation high throughout the season, and focus exclusively on match tactics or teamwork, which seemed to work well in the first season. Having overachieved massively (winning the VNS) my mistake was to tell the players that everyone would get the chance in the VNL, which they all took as 'a promise' not to sign anyone. Now every time I bring in a new player the whole team kicks off about broken promises and their positions being under threat. Morale is at abysmal levels, most of my best players are unhappy and, although most of the team still supports me, I fear I'm going to lose the dressing room. We're also struggling with just one win in five or six games. Unless we can turn it around quickly I think another restart is on the cards. i made that mistake too XD Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulskln Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 20 hours ago, thomas_e said: @paulskln, I dont know the skills and attributes of your players, but this style of play seems a bit demanding for Vanarama South players. Short passing and "Work Ball into Box" is pretty demanding on players and they need to have high quality passing, vision, and be good off the ball. Your striker especially, considering the role you have assigned, he needs to drop deep and link up with midfielders and wingers. Your defend/support/attack roles seems balanced enough though, no red flags for me there at least. But as a general rule (for me, not trying to dictate anyone else) is to keep it simple in the lower leagues. Few specialist roles, balanced or direct football and try to take advantage of pace in your team (wingers/striker). 19 hours ago, themonk9223 said: good luck mate! i know a lot of managers love this formation as well as the 4-2-3-1, but with the quality of players you got, and if your willing the 4-4-2 is most reliable for me. lower league is like ping pong thus speed and stamina are key. also i have tried a lot of crazy formations like a 4-1-5-0 and 4-3-3-0.. 3 DMs and AMs but of all 4-4-2 was most consistent while a 4-2-3-1 was good for cup runs haha. here's something similar to what i used as i have changed to suit my league i cant quite remember what i used exactly so may not be accurate. obviously you would change the striker roles to what you have. i.e i've had tm-p, af-p, tm-af, af-dlf. i've also at times had the bwm in the deeper positions. just depending where your players are natural. i'm no expert nor claim to be any good at this haha but i hope this helps a bit. 5 hours ago, 13-gigi said: I use the same formation but kind of diferent roles. Nowadays, in L1 I'm playing Sk Sup. 2 Ball Playing Defenders on D. duty, 2 Attacking Wing Backs, Defensive DLP as holding, Attacking Mezzala and Suport AP, 2 Wingers (1At 1Su) and a CF At. On my non-league days I combined 1 CD with 1 BPD as not all of them felt comfortably with the ball on their feet and in the middle of the park usead a BWM Su and AP At with a talented player as AP and a highly working one as BWM in a support duty to help the team to close down high on the pitch and used a Defensive Forward on Su. duty. I use a control mentality trying to play a passing now and then game, closing down high on the pitch but not my wing backs. I instruct both of them to close down less trying not to give lots of space on their backs, but still conceding several goals from crosses. You could give a try to a Right WB At as you have all the right hand side on Su. and he'll want to run up to the byline and will hep to your team instruction of overlapping. Also, I'd play a high working BWM or BBM instead of CM. As you can see I tend not to use roles such as G/CD/DM/CM... I dislike your be more disciplined instruction. I used it in my high tempo attacking 352 when losing and trying a hard comeback but if you're playing a control game, with short passing and all your players are stuck trying to be disciplined is hard to broke teams down. I let them to roam around the pitch but make sure you have a pacey pair of CB if you take your defence slightly high up the pitch as I do. 4 hours ago, Edinton said: Ironically I've just switched to Short Passing out of frustration with my players, particularly my defence, aimlessly hitting the ball long. I've found in the two matches I've tried it - against two of the top three - it has given the team a more defined playing style and an element of control that I've felt we've been lacking throughout the season (and throughout the other two seasons I've attempted). I've also switched to a Structured style and I'm happy my 4411 is well balanced, the aim being to assist with the players decision making seeing as they are low quality. I'm still fourth bottom but feeling confident I can pull away from the danger zone...! Thank you all for the advice....I am going to give the 4-4-2 a try for a season and see how it goes....will post my progress when things have settled down for me....Going to try a 4-4-2 and will change mentality depening on the oppostition and how my games are going.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
themonk9223 Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 15 minutes ago, paulskln said: Thank you all for the advice....I am going to give the 4-4-2 a try for a season and see how it goes....will post my progress when things have settled down for me....Going to try a 4-4-2 and will change mentality depening on the oppostition and how my games are going.... all the best. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
themonk9223 Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 from 1000-1 we did it i don't know how and i don't care. all that matters is that we did it. and with 4 games to spare!! i will use the last 4 games for youth players so not expecting any wins haha. sighned a lot of free's for the youth team and u23s some good potential players including 2 or 3 that will hopefully feature in the 1st team this year. financials are looking ok but should get a massive boost when the prem tv and sponsors come in. hoping to sign a few bosman deals and find a few really cheap players and go again. lets see if we can defy the odds again and survive our first year. UP THE GATE! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabn Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 I probably reloaded 100+ times. Finally settling on a team - the mighty Coalville Town. It had the lowest reputation I could get at 1800. Also no manager in place so I decided to apply the old fashioned way. I lost about a week but this seems more 'authentic'. I also now have to play possession based football and use youngsters from the youth system. I am going to play this as hardcore as I can. Hiring staff that actually apply for posted jobs and potentially only signing players that come through scout reports. Though that last bit may be too hardcore. I have something like 69000 players loaded from only Europe and UK/Ireland fully loaded. Anyways, screenshot posted. I have not even looked at the team. Lets see how season 1 goes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warlock Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 1 hour ago, themonk9223 said: i don't know how and i don't care. all that matters is that we did it Congratulations and wild applause. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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